Tonight

An aluminum and glass statue titled "Silver Twist" will be installed at a new apartment complex on Soscol Avenue. The statue was made by Napa artist Gordon Huether a number of years ago. It was previously on display near Angele Restaurant in downtown.

A well-traveled Huether sculpture finds a permanent home in Napa

An aluminum and glass statue titled "Silver Twist" will be installed at a new apartment complex on Soscol Avenue. The statue was made by Napa artist Gordon Huether a number of years ago. It was previously on display near Angele Restaurant in downtown.

An aluminum and glass statue titled “Silver Twist” will become the artistic centerpiece of a new residential neighborhood on Soscol Avenue.

The artwork was purchased and selected as the public art for the entrance to the Braydon apartment complex (formerly known as Vista Tulocay), a development of nine buildings containing 282 rental units on Soscol Avenue. The statue was made several years ago by Napa artist Gordon Huether.

The apartment development, located west of Soscol’s Auto Row, was originally owned by the Gasser Foundation and is now being developed by Fairfield Residential Company of San Diego. The Gasser Foundation is developing a large commercial project around the apartment complex.

“Joe Peatman at the Gasser foundation has been a friend, mentor and patron for many years,” said Huether. “I’m excited to see the Silver Twist sculpture be a gateway to Napa’s newest residential development.”

Peatman, president of the Gasser Foundation, said that a water tower was originally proposed for the roundabout. But after reviewing the idea, “it just didn’t look right.”

Peatman had remembered seeing the Silver Twist when it was on public display at several different areas in Napa Valley, including next to Angele Restaurant & Bar in Napa and in downtown Yountville.

“It’s remarkably attractive,” said Peatman. “So we bought it from Gordon and he’s installing it any day now.”

The work will be placed inside a roundabout near the middle of the project.

Huether said until Silver Twist was purchased by the Gasser Foundation, he had lent the piece to the city of Younvtille and to Harry Price, developer of the Napa Mill.

Gasser bought the statue for $150,000, said the artist. It stands about 14 feet tall and is made of stainless steel and dichroic glass.

Napa’s municipal code requires a piece of public art for commercial construction projects that cost more than $250,000. The cost of the art must be equal to at least 1 percent of the project’s construction costs.

Even though the city requires such an installation, “we like public art,” said Peatman.

As the saying goes: “Man doesn’t live by food alone,” he said.

During a September interview, Brendan Hayes, a representative of Fairfield Residential Company, said the company hopes to have apartment homes ready in 2019.

Fairfield bought the apartment project from BLT Enterprises in February 2017 for an estimated $34.25 million.

Subscribe to Daily Headlines

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.